


Wish You Were Here Shepard

by Berserker79



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Destroy Ending, Multi, Shepard Survives, Short One Shot, Unspecified Gender Shepard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2013-06-17
Packaged: 2018-06-10 17:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6966790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Berserker79/pseuds/Berserker79
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard is sorting out a load of paperwork at the computer terminal in the Captain’s cabin of the Normandy, but work is interrupted as the Commander starts thinking about Ashley Williams...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wish You Were Here Shepard

**Author's Note:**

> Shepard's gender is up to the reader's choice.
> 
> No pretense to be a writer of any sort, this is just an experiment at writing brief fanfic dating back to a few years ago. Originally posted on my deviantART account [[link]](http://berserker79.deviantart.com/art/ME-Wish-You-Were-Here-Shepard-short-story-378700816).

Shepard’s neck was aching for the time spent peering over the dozens of documents loaded on the terminal in the Captain’s cabin. It was certainly not a new duty for the Commander, but back in the days of the Normandy SR-1 Pressly used to sort out almost all the paperwork. And when Cerberus was running the show, Miranda had whatever paperwork was required by the Illusive Man under her own control. After that, the Reapers had not left any time for paperwork…

But after their victory, the peacetime fleet apparently returned to care more for paperwork than for combat readiness. Of course, Shepard knew better than complaining about peacetime. Not after the galaxy dodged at the very last moment the Reaper menace… The memory of the Reapers trading hammer blows with the fleets over Earth and the grotesquely ravaged humans, turians or batarians turned into killing machines was still too close to find the regulations of the peacetime fleet boring. 

Fighting the sudden wave of revulsion brought about by the thought of the Reapers, the Commander tried turning all the attention back to examining logs and finalizing reports. “Well,” Shepard thought, “guess I should really find a way to dump some of this stuff on Specialist Traynor or I’ll burn myself out trying to complete these on my own.”

Fact was Shepard was more tired than usual, all courtesy of shifting back to the 24-hour clock all Alliance ships used after spending several days on Odissey IV, better known as “Nausicaa”, with its 20-hour long day. Nausicaa was a human colony world that had seen an astonishing rate of development over the last couple of years. Untouched by the war, with its healthy climate and pretty landscapes Nausicaa had quickly become a favorite destination for thousands of survivors fleeing their shattered colonies. 

Still, the reason for Shepard’s presence there was that the planet also got a reputation as a popular destination for tourism. In fact, before being recalled to the Normandy for a diplomatic meeting (apparently Alliance Command figured Shepard’s presence was vital for the success of negotiations with any alien race), the Commander had been spending a well-deserved shore leave on Nausicaa with Ashley Williams. 

The two of them had been enjoying their time on the beach in a small area reserved to Alliance personnel. Ashley had developed a knack for surfing and tried to teach some basics to her Commander. However, in spite of all her efforts, Shepard had failed to master the art… Getting hurled ashore by the waves on a regular basis proved too much of a dent in the pride of an N7 specialist, so much that Shepard was content to sit on the beach admiring Ashley as she mastered the sea on her surfboard.

“Miss you Ash…” the thought crossed Shepard’s mind instinctively, the portrait with Ashley’s photo becoming a magnet for the Commander’s gaze. “Wonder what are you doing now, maybe riding more waves?” As if answering this very question, the datapad emitted a chirping noise calling for Shepard’s attention. Fingers dancing on the display of the device, Shepard opened the new message, noticing it consisted only of an image attachment which was promptly loaded onscreen. 

A satisfied smile appeared on Shepard face upon realizing the attachment  was a photo showing Ashley in a breathtaking bikini, a surfboard under her arm and smiling in the Commander’s direction. After a couple of seconds a message appeared over the photo, “Wish you were here Shepard! Love, Ash” with what was unmistakably the impression of a kiss.

  
  


“I’ll be back soon darling…” with that Shepard uploaded the photo to the digital frame on the desk, replacing the earlier portrait of Ashley, and returned to work. A load of paperwork would not be enough to separate the two of them if even the Reapers could not.


End file.
